The Other Woman
by Shattered Apocalypse
Summary: And she once wondered why his kisses had been so bittersweet. So gentle yet heartbreaking. So beautiful, yet mourning. So lovely, yet longing for lips that were not hers.
1. The Prequel

**Warning**: Err, what can I say? Shoot me. AU, OOC, bittersweet... The usual, angsty/depressing shit. Dark.

**Disclaimer: **Disclaim.

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><p><strong><span>The Other Woman<span>**

"_You have eight unheard messages."_

_"Hey Mikan-chan, it's me, Nonoko... I haven't seen you at work lately. Are you okay? Please talk to me..."_

_"To delete, press one. For more options..."_

_"Hi, it's Anna, calling to see if you're alright. Look, I know what happened... It's not your fault Mi-chan. ...You can always talk to me, you know..."_

_"To delete, press one. For more..."_

_"The great Sumire won't stand being ignored, Mikan! Come on, we need to hang out to get your mind off that ass-wipe. Seriously. Shopping. And take a shower. I know when you feel awful you tend to forget about yourself."_

_"To delete, press one. For..."_

_"Come back, Mikan. You've been stuck in your apartment for five days now. I won't stand for your ugly face crying over that stupid Hyuuga. I'm coming over later. - Hotaru."_

_"To delete, press one..."_

_"Mikan-chan, it's Ruka-pyon! Listen, we miss you! Please pick up your phone at least, so that we know you're alright!"_

_"To delete, press..."_

_"Oi, it's Youichi. I'm sorry. I knew and never told you. I thought... I don't know what I thought. Maybe that you'd figure it out by yourself while you still weren't in too deep."_

_"To delete..."_

_"Look, it's Koko. I know what happened. I also know you've probably heard a thousand 'sorry's when all you wanted was one. I'm not here to apologize. Just... call, alright? We're all worried. Even that crab eater Imai."_

_"To..."_

_"Mikan... It's Aoi. If memory serves correctly, I'm probably the last person you want to hear from. I'm sorry for all the shit I told you... I just thought, you know, that you _knew _but were still going along with it. I never would have guessed... I'm so sorry, Mikan-chan!"_

_"T-"_

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><p>And she once wondered why his kisses had been so bittersweet. So gentle yet heartbreaking. So beautiful, yet mourning.<p>

So lovely, yet longing for lips that were not hers.

Permy was wrong, Mikan thought as she looked at herself in the mirror. Because this was nothing like when her first long-time boyfriend dumped her for another, resulting in Mikan crying herself to sleep for three nights, hardly eating, and only mumbling when spoken to. This moment was nothing like the time she suffered after her dad died of cancer. She had cried for weeks, no energy in her cheerful amber orbs, not even bathing unless forced by her mother or a friend.

Because this time, Mikan was so, so _dirty _and she needed to wash away the _filth_ that continued to cling to her skin like a parasite.

She already showered thrice that day, scrubbing at her flesh in such frustration that she made herself bleed.

And then she cried. She fell down on her knees harshly, yet didn't seem to mind the burning pain and the bruises that would eventually come. The water, boiling hot, sprayed down like acid rain as she continued to cry and wail and scream in hatred and confusion, pounding her small, elegant hands on the tile beneath her.

She finally came out roughly twenty minutes later, sober and hurting and absolutely lifeless, her bloody, wrinkly skin not helping the image at all. It took another ten or so minutes for the wrinkles to disappear, leaving the blood all alone.

Mikan quickly chose her outfit for the day, hardly caring if it was in any way 'fashionable'.

She was broken when she finally picked up her phone, only to see unheard messages that she forced herself to listen to.

And now the scene before her...

She looked at herself in the full-body mirror, noticing every small detail that was usually dismissed completely from her mind.

But this time was different.

The woman that stared back was a pretty one, with large, doe like amber eyes that glowed. Her lashes were long and thick and stunning, her eyebrows, perfect. She had a small nose, and pleasant, soft-pink lips. A natural blush was on her cheeks, and her face was heart-shaped. Long thick bangs fell just above her eyes, no longer splitting in the middle like they had so long ago. Her locks were long, cascading all the way down her back in layers, curling at the ends and being a lovely shade of dark caramel.

But oh, the woman was so, so _sad _and completely shattered. Those orbs were emotionless; droopy. The woman's usual porcelain skin was far too pale, far too sickly, and there were dark, ugly bags underneath her eyes. Her hair was unkempt and unruly, lathered so much it was falling out. She looked like a corpse and she knew it.

The door rang. "We're coming in" was audible, and Mikan scrambled to the living room as quickly as her sleepless body would let her.

_Please please _please _don't look at me!_

"Haha, Hotaru... Sumire, what are you guys doing here?"

"I told you I'd come by later."

Sumire didn't answer for herself. "Mikan... You look like crap."

"Ahaha, what are you talking about? This is what I always look like." _Don't see through me, please, _please _don't._

"Mikan." Hotaru walked towards her best friend and carefully grabbed her lower arm. Mikan was bone thin and _cold_. "What are you hiding beneath your clothes?"

Sakura gulped and quickly slipped from the grip, laughing hesitantly and turning her head to not face those penetrating eyes. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

Imai's amethyst eyes narrowed as she took the other arm painfully, making Mikan wince. She quickly rolled up the long, navy sleeve of the plain shirt and stared in shock. "Mikan..."

"I just, uh, you know, took a couple showers. That's all. No biggie."

"..." Sumire looked and gasped. "Sakura..."

"It's no big deal guys! I'm _fine_. Perfectly _fine_, okay! It'll heal, I swear!"

"These are third degree burns and _you're bleeding_!"

"You don't get it! I just – I feel so _dirty_." She whispered, and then she started wailing, bawling her eyes out. Dropping once more on a harsh, uninviting floor, she cupped her face with her hands, muffing her desperate cries.

"Mikan-"

"I- I lost the b- baby..." she hiccuped.

Hotaru grew furious as the dots connected in her head. _"What?"_ she seethed, barely keeping her temper in line.

"I- I was so, so _happy _when I heard that I was pregnant. And – And then I heard – I heard about him and Luna and how he was just playing with – with me and... and _I lost the baby._ I instantly knew that I was the – the other woman, and, and I- I lo-l-lost..."

And she could continue no more, because she was a broken doll who could no longer be fully repaired.

Shouda dropped down and hugged Mikan, her own tears spilling down like a waterfall. "Honey..."

"Idiot," Hotaru sighed, putting her arms around the two and saying soothing words.

They stayed like that for what seemed to be eternity, before letting go and laughing at each other's messed up faces.

_Three months later_

The two approached.

"Hey guys." The amber eyed beauty looked far more healthier than she did all those months ago. "How was the wedding?"

"Like hell. Everything went along perfectly and I wanted to puke on Luna's wedding gown."

"Hahaha, calm down, Permy."

"Oi, Mikan, you have an unheard message." But before Mikan could reach for the device, Hotaru already had the message playing softly in her ear.

_"Hey, Mikan. I just wanted to say I'm-"_

_"Message deleted."_

"Mou! What was that all about, Hotaru!" Sakura pouted, trying to go for her Blackberry again.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with. The person had the wrong number."

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><p>And voila, I came up with this heartbreaking shit. Don't think lowly of me, I love Natsume as well... I was just in a dark mood.<p>

So tell me, do you like, do you not like? ….Reviews?


	2. The Sequel

This is the sequel everyone's been asking for... I hope you enjoy, even though it's not exactly a happy ending. Although it should clear up a bunch of misunderstandings.

Thank you for all the reviews!

By the way: This is A LOT less depressing than the prequel.

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><p><strong><span>The Other Woman<span>**

"_You have eight unheard messages."_

_"Dude, not cool. I don't know exactly what happened, but you should seriously apologize to Mikan. This is Mochi, by the way."_

_"To delete, press one. For more options..."_

_"Hyuuga-san! It's Yuu. Please apologize to Mikan-san, she's really hurt, you know!"_

_"To delete, press one. For more..."_

_"You fucking peace of shit! _How dare you?_ Coward! That's all you are! I suppose your little whore doesn't know what you did, huh? You're a disgrace, Hyuuga. A fucking disgrace. - Shouda."_

_"To delete, press one. For..."_

_"Hyuuga – you're an ass. - Imai."_

_"To delete, press one..."_

_"This is Ruka. Natsume, I can't believe you did that! Can you _please_ just say you're sorry to her? She's so broken..."_

_"To delete press..."_

_"Nii-san, I hope you're satisfied. Because of you, there's one more person who's suffering out there. This is Youichi. Don't bother calling to make an excuse. You're a disappointment and I want nothing to do with you as of right now."_

_"To delete..."_

_"Koko, here to tell you that you probably made the worst mistake in your life. Seriously man, apologize to Sakura. She didn't deserve this."_

_"To..."_

_"Onii-chan, I hate you. I can't believe I actually DEFENDED you until now. I said so many hurtful things to her! Oh! - Aoi."_

_"T-"_

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><p>"Mikan... Tell me, tell me everything that happened."<p>

The one addressed was slightly hesitant, her eyes widening a proportion. "I thought you already knew."

"I don't. All I really knew for certain was that you and that Hyuuga were in some sort of relationship and he was the cause of all of this."

Sumire bobbed, her curly green hair swaying, not knowing what to say.

"Well," Sakura shakily started, "I don't really know where to begin."

"From the beginning?"

"Hahaha. Nice one, Permy."

Sumire didn't have the heart to make a ruckus over her nickname.

Mikan threw a small smile before standing up off the floor and walking, quite wobbly, into the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, she took out an Arizona, which she then set on the counter. She quickly opened the wooden cupboard nearest to the fridge and took out red wine, vodka, and whiskey.

The amber eyed beauty first moved the Arizona and the vodka to the coffee table in her living room, then the red wine and whiskey.

"Straight from the bottle?" Sumire commented, but said nothing more.

The three young women huddled at arms length in a circle, sitting very close to the table. Mikan took the Arizona for herself and put the other three in the middle of them.

Shouda thought long and hard. Should she take the vodka, or the whiskey?

When Hotaru took the vodka, she knew her answer and took the whiskey in one fluid motion.

"It's so much easier to tell the truth when you're wasted, don't you think?"

"Then why the hell did you take the Arizona?"

Mikan shrugged. "Because."

And so the tale began.

"I met him at a cafe." She took a gulp of her cold tea before putting it down and taking Permy's whiskey. "I was in line, attempting to pay for my drink. It was one of those cheesy moments where I couldn't find my wallet in my mess of a purse. He was behind me, and kindly paid for me." Mikan drank about a shot of whiskey before giving it back to Sumire.

"I asked him how I could repay him." At this, Shouda snorted and began ferociously assaulting her whiskey.

"He told me to go on a date with him, and I didn't refuse." Hotaru sighed at the foolishness of it all, chocking her bottle all while pouring the liquid in her throat. Ah, the hangover was going to be a bitch. If she didn't die of poisoning, that is.

"No, Hotaru, you don't understand. He wasn't wearing a ring. On any of his fingers. So I told him 'okay'."

Imai forcefully pulled the whiskey from Sumire's lips and chugged it down. The green orbed beauty frowned and grabbed the wine in the middle.

"I was completely smitten after the first date," Mikan said, swallowing a large portion of Hotaru's vodka, which stung and burned her insides.

Four months flew by, with several dates and sweet kisses, after which things started to get more... _physical_.

"Weeell," Sumire asked, loopy and barely holding in her puke, "wazzz heee, hic, goooddd in bed?"

"Hee, hee, he wazz," Mikan replied, almost unconscious. "In faaact, that'z how I got pregant."

"You mean 'pregnant'." Hotaru seemed to be the only one not fully stoned.

"Yeah! Yeah..." And, as if hit by a train, she sobered. "I- I was so lost in him, I didn't realize- I, oh God- I-" Then she lunged for the bathroom, only just making it before the contents of her stomach poured out painfully.

Sumire followed just as gracefully soon after, throwing up all over the white and blue tiles.

"You know, you're cleaning that up..." Mikan panted, pointing at Sumire's pile of puke.

The two of them shared a look, passing out mere seconds after the exchange.

Hotaru eyed the two. "Dumb asses." She shook her head and made her way to the couch, snuggling with the first thing her hands came in contact with.

And then she too, promptly fell into the realm of dreams.

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><p>"You know, Sumire, you're sporting a great look."<p>

"Shut up."

"Indeed Shouda, the puke is a great concealer."

"Shut. Up."

"Ugh, I stink."

"No shit, sherlock."

"Damn – I forgot to take pictures."

"Tch. I'm glad."

"Promise you'll stop me if I ever get near liquor again."

"I can't promise you that, Permy."

_Three months later_

After much prompting from, well, everyone that they both knew, he decided to grant their small, shared desire.

A message would work, wouldn't it? He was busy in the office, anyway.

_"Hey, Mikan. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I really didn't want to hurt you. ...Can we, perhaps, keep our little fling a secret? - Natsume."_

Just when he flipped his phone shut, his secretary rushed in. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Hyuuga!"

"What is it?"

"The Hyuuga Corporation's largest supporter just backed out! And following her, Sumire-sama's fashion company, La Rose Verte, went as well! Without them, this company's going to go bankrupt!"

Natsume stared in shock. "Please leave me."

"But Mr. Hyu-"

"Leave!"

And just like in those old, cliché movies, once he was alone, he got a phone call.

_"Karma's a bitch, isn't it?"_

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><p>And that is all. Hopefully no one has questions. Like the top note said, this is lighter than the previous chapter. I was planning on deep, deep goo-y darkness, but then came up with this. (The dark idea kind of left my head.)<p>

Review?


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